Babylon 5 Energic Trauma Weaponry
'Energic Trauma Weaponry' This rather broad weapon technology category consists of weapons that may have started as another style of technology but somewhere along the line became something else entirely. Weapons that effect their targets with waves of deadly energy are designed not for precision or careful consideration, but to utterly decimate the target. These weapon systems are not subtle, nor are they defensive in any way (no matter what the people using them might say). They are nothing but weapons of war. 'Energy Mine Launcher' *Fire Control: -1D Designed and refined from the simple tactic of detonating old Centauri fusion cores amidst their enemies, the Narn Regime has come up with several new and improved varieties to inflict waves of hull-buckling damage across a very wide area of space. The ‘E-mine’ is not actually a mine at all, but an offensive tool that deprives an enemy of large areas of safe space. Bearing the same launching principle as they use with ion torpedoes and jettisoned waste, the Narn vessel hurls a pre-configured energy casing into an area of space and detonates it, washing the enemy in buffeting blasts of energy. This is particularly effective against flights of enemy fighters or shuttlecraft – or Centauri escape pods – but tends to be far less effective against thicker armored vessels. It is effective and spectacular to witness, but the reloading times required often mean these weapon systems are only used in an opening barrage while the Narn are taking up positions to bring other weapon systems to bear. Energy mine launchers may only fire once per turn due to their slow loading times. *'Special': If an energy mine is fired at a fleet or wing, it applies its Damage against every single craft within that group. The one attack roll is compared to every craft’s piloting roll. 'Pulsar Mine Launcher' *Fire Control: -1D As an attempt to create a faster firing E-mine, the pulsar mine is an adequate result. Using pre-arranged energy charges and a simple drop feed mechanism, this miniature energy mine launcher can eject a series of attacks in very short order. Considering the advent of alternate firing modes for standard launchers, the Narn Regime does not use pulsar mines in many military craft. It has become a trader escort favorite, as it is very discouraging to fighter-laden raiders along the spacelanes. *'Special': If an energy mine is fired at a fleet or wing, it applies its Damage against every single craft within that group. The one attack roll is compared to every craft’s piloting roll. 'Packet Torpedo Launcher' The Gaim have always been proponents of the logical approach to warfare, looking at every aspect of a battle before committing forces. One highly useful technique is to deny areas of space to the vessels of the enemy. The energy-based packet torpedo launcher is a great tool to do this. Using groups of negatively charged energy-packets grouped around an electromagnetic core, the Gaim designed an energy ‘cluster bomb’ that can be fired out of a common gauss principle tube into an area – then simply turn off the signal to the core, sending the attraction-hungry packets toward the enemies in all directions. These weapons can target several vessels at once if they are grouped together in one area, as the packets themselves are impossible to direct other than at the initial launch. *'Special': If an energy mine is fired at a fleet or wing, it applies its Damage against every single craft within that group. The one attack roll is compared to every craft’s piloting roll. 'Solar Cannon' Quite possibly one of the deadliest weapons in the Drazi arsenal, the solar cannon is a beam of focused and re-focused fusion energy in a saturation-style beam format. When projected onto a target it vaporizes hull plating, bathing the affected target with intense heat from the dozens of refocusing chambers in the weapon system’s accumulator. Used on many of their larger or more specialized vessels, the solar cannon requires a frightening amount of energy to fire and must be compensated for over several minutes before and after firing. Solar cannons may only fire once per turn due to their slow recharging times. 'Mag Gun' *Fire Control: -1D Large even for Narn standards, the magnetic-assisted fusion drive gun or ‘mag gun’ is a massive weapon based on the same principle as mass drivers. Built slightly smaller and without the idea of orbital bombardment in mind, the mag gun collects energy and mass particles from its own supercondenser fusion drive, then floods them through a series of magnetic coils that speed up, flatten and turn the projectile into a spear of white hot energy and matter that will devour a ship in seconds if given the opportunity. These weapons are surprisingly efficient due to their attached fusion drive, but are very expensive and considered secret within the Narn Regime. It is rumored that some have fallen into black market hands, but with the galaxy-renowned vengeful streak of the Narn it is no wonder they have not been sold yet. 'Fusion Bomb' A powerful nuclear device that has been responsible for some of the most nefarious moments in galactic history, fusion bombs are merciless and unforgiving. Used to destroy the Black Star during the Earth-Minbari War, then again later to destroy the capitol of Z’ha’dum and then once again to close the portal to the much-debated ‘Thirdspace War’… fusion bombs are never used lightly. A fusion bomb is deployed, most often on a stationary target or section of space, then triggered to explode from a safe distance away. The resulting detonation will most likely take apart any target in the vicinity or at least seriously cripple it. Special: Fusion bombs automatically hit every target within a space range of 9 of its point of detonation. 'Source' *Babylon 5 Ship Builder's Manual (pages 56-57) *thedemonapostle